NPA criticises Asda for storing less British Pigmeat

National Pig Association (NPA), the trade association for the pig industry in the UK has heavily criticized supermarket Asda for stocking less British pork products and stocking more imported pigmeat. The survey conducted by AHDB Porkwatch covering November 2016 revealed that the overall British pigmeat stock in the UK supermarkets fell by 3 percent. On the September survey it was down by 5 percent. Asda was the worst performer among the 10 retailers covered in the survey, registering 35 percent drop in the volume of British pork on its shelves between September and November 2016.

The best performers continued to be Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, with scoring 100 per cent or close to it across the board. Of the total pork in the UK supermarkets, 79 percent were British pork which was down 5 percent on September and 2 percent on November 2015. Backon 46 percent, Ham 62 percent and Sausages 82 percent were from British farms.

All retailers, except Tesco and Asda, scored 100 per cent in pork, with Lidl becoming the latest to join the club in the November survey. Of the ‘big four’, Sainsbury’s scored well across all categories, except bacon at just 35 per cent, 11 per cent down on September.

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: “As ever, we thank those retailers that continue to back British pork and promote the fact they are doing so. We are disappointed with the overall results showing that retailers sourced less British pigmeat across the categories.

Tesco could certainly do better. But the performance of Asda, which was already in a league of its own when it comes to turning its back on British pork, was dreadful and we will be taking it up with them at the earliest opportunity,” she said.

“But, overall, it is not just about the proportion of British pigmeat. We have been encouraged by some of the new pork product development on the shelves of a number of retailers, including Waitrose and Aldi. “That is certainly something we are looking forward to seeing much more of this year.”